Birmingham Real Estate Information

Founded on the 1st of June, 1871, by a group of real estate promoters. They sold lots near both North and South railroads. The site gained attention because of the deposits of coal, limestone and iron ore located nearby. All three are used as raw materials in the production of steel and Birmingham is one of the few places in the world where they are found so close by.

From the very beginning the city was developed as a pinnacle of industry, with the founders borrowing the name Birmingham from one of the United Kingdom's centers of industry. Although it started out slowly, largely due to the stock market crashing in 1873, it soon saw a rapid growth spurt.

As the new century began, the growing city of Birmingham was dubbed, "The Magic City" as it saw a continual rise in population. The downtown district turned from a quiet area into a huge residential zone, with grids of skyscrapers erected and tracks for street cars laid down.
The decade between 1902 and 1912 saw four large towers housing offices complete construction on 1st Avenue North, the street connecting the industrial area with the warehouse district. The large number of massive building earned the zone the reputation of the "Heaviest Corner of Earth".

Birmingham was hit incredibly hard by the Great Depression, largely because the resources used to fuel the city's economy were weakening at that time, and jobs became hard to find. However, Birmingham soon returned to prosperity thanks to the war time demand for steel, and the large amounts of construction in post war America.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Birmingham attracted a lot of attention, both nationally and internationally, as a center for the fight of African American civil rights movement. For a time, it was known as "Bombingham", a macabre name earned after several bombings, motivated by racial tensions, hit the city. It was here, in 1963, that Martin Luther King Junior, being held in Birmingham Jail after taking part in a nonviolent protest, wrote a letter that is now famous world wide. Sadly, few have forgotten the killing of four African American girls later that year when a bomb was planted in the 16th St. Baptist Church.

By the 1970s the city was focussed on the construction of the University of Alabama in Birmingham, which has since become a center for medical research. Then 1971 saw Birmingham celebrate its centennial, with many public works being improved upon, including an upgrade to the famous Vulcan Park. Banking institutions also experienced large growths and new skyscrapers began popping up again all across the city for the first time since 1920. With the projects ongoing, the city saw its economy begin to diversify, although this did not stop many of the residents moving to independent areas. 1979 was a proud year for Birmingham, as it elected it's first African American mayor, Dr. Richard Arrington Junior.

Like many other population trends in cities across America, Birmingham has seen the number of residents inside it's city limits fall over the last few decades. In 1960 the population was 340,900, however it fell to 242,815 in 2000 - which means it was reduced by roughly 29% over those 40 years.

In recent history however Birmingham has had a boom of hundreds of millions dollars invested in turning the down town area into a district suitable for multiple uses, 24 hours a day. Slowly, Birmingham is now starting to see the construction of several new restaurants and retail stores.